Weston Martinez, an appointed member of the Texas Real Estate Commission and business owner, will join law firm Patel | Gaines as vice president of business development.

“When you see a law firm that’s getting results for Texas taxpayers, that’s what was really exciting for me,” said Martinez. “This is a law firm with a great knowledge base and who are committed to getting results.”

Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, now U.S. Secretary of Energy, appointed Martinez to the Real Estate Commission in 2011, where he continues to serve. Martinez says he will continue to serve on the commission’s budget committee and says his new position at Patel | Gaines will not conflict with his work on the commission.

As the new vice president of business development, Martinez hopes to help the firm expand into a business he knows well — oil and gas.

“The oil and gas industry pays $26 million a day in taxes to the state of Texas and to local governments. They do a lot of business and we want to make sure they’re being taxed properly,” said Martinez. “On the land owner side, we have individuals who are experiencing all these lease changes who may not know what they’re looking at on a new lease or people with pipelines going across their property who may not know their rights. It’s important for us to identify those opportunities and assist where necessary.”

Martinez also hopes to help regular citizens utilize their property to its true value while navigating them through the many structures of government.

Rahul Patel, managing partner at Patel | Gaines, said he first met Martinez at a real estate seminar held by the Business Journal in February of this year. It was there, and from several other subsequent meetings that Patel realized what kind of asset Martinez could be to his firm.

“We had several communications and it became evident that someone like Weston could be a valuable addition to our team and to our clients,” said Patel. “His experience and knowledge base really sets him apart and in turn will help us separate ourselves from other law firms.”

Martinez added that he and Patel connected because they share a common work ethic and a passion for delivering results, even equating Patel to “the brother he never had.”

“Patel | Gaines wants to be a one stop shop for people involved with real estate transactions. In most circumstances, people have to go to 10 different companies just to complete a transaction,” said Martinez.

Patel | Gaines is a full service law firm that specializes in property tax litigation, commercial litigation, and commercial real estate, but also services other legal areas as well.